Jasper Jones
Jasper Jones Essay
The novel “Jasper Jones” by Craig Silvey is narrated in first person point of view by Charlie Bucktin (the main character of the book). But why? The book is called “Jasper Jones” yet it is told from Charlie’s point of view. This is because the story is about a girl called Laura Wishart committing suicide, which Charlie and Jasper try to find out why this happened, thinking that someone had actually murdered her. If the story was told from Jasper’s point of view the story would be less believable because of the false idea that all Aboriginal people are bad which means everything they say a lie. So instead it is told from Charlie’s point of view because he is European/white which makes his story believable and more credible.
One of the main themes of the story is racism. During the 1960’s era there were a lot of racism issues in Australia. There was racism towards Aboriginal people and towards the Vietnamese people due to the Vietnam War. Jasper is actually a good person. He is: confident, clever, brave and mature. But the town fails to see this because of the racism towards him. They blamed him for all the wrong doings in town such as burning the post office which in fact he didn’t do. Jasper is despised by the community but when it comes to sport, he is like everyone’s hero. He is constantly being abused by the police, for example when Jasper was called in for an inquiry by the police about the disappearance of Eliza Wishart they let the shire president hit/bash him. The police are meant to protect the young and Jasper is only a fifteen year old boy.
The setting is a crucial part of the story. It is set during the 1960’s Western Australia in the small country town of Corrigan. First of all in a small town word spreads as fast as a runaway train so when something bad happens like how the post office got burnt down, “apparently” by Jasper the town’s people are going to start talking. In Corrigan Jasper is the person being always being blamed.
The novel “Jasper Jones” by Craig Silvey is narrated in first person point of view by Charlie Bucktin (the main character of the book). But why? The book is called “Jasper Jones” yet it is told from Charlie’s point of view. This is because the story is about a girl called Laura Wishart committing suicide, which Charlie and Jasper try to find out why this happened, thinking that someone had actually murdered her. If the story was told from Jasper’s point of view the story would be less believable because of the false idea that all Aboriginal people are bad which means everything they say a lie. So instead it is told from Charlie’s point of view because he is European/white which makes his story believable and more credible.
One of the main themes of the story is racism. During the 1960’s era there were a lot of racism issues in Australia. There was racism towards Aboriginal people and towards the Vietnamese people due to the Vietnam War. Jasper is actually a good person. He is: confident, clever, brave and mature. But the town fails to see this because of the racism towards him. They blamed him for all the wrong doings in town such as burning the post office which in fact he didn’t do. Jasper is despised by the community but when it comes to sport, he is like everyone’s hero. He is constantly being abused by the police, for example when Jasper was called in for an inquiry by the police about the disappearance of Eliza Wishart they let the shire president hit/bash him. The police are meant to protect the young and Jasper is only a fifteen year old boy.
The setting is a crucial part of the story. It is set during the 1960’s Western Australia in the small country town of Corrigan. First of all in a small town word spreads as fast as a runaway train so when something bad happens like how the post office got burnt down, “apparently” by Jasper the town’s people are going to start talking. In Corrigan Jasper is the person being always being blamed.